Balaam saw that it pleased: He said, “I no longer have to test the Holy One, blessed is He, for He will not want to curse them.”

וירא בלעם כי טוב וגו': אמר איני צריך לבדוק בהקב"ה כי לא יחפוץ לקללם:

so he did not go… as he had done time and time again: As he had done twice - [Mid. Aggadah]

ולא הלך כפעם בפעם: כאשר עשה שתי פעמים:

in search of omens: To divine that perhaps God would chance to meet him as he wished. He said, “Whether He wishes to curse them or not, I will mention their sins so that on the mention of their sins the curse can take effect.” - [Mid. Aggadah]

but turned his face toward the desert: As the Targum paraphrases [“He directed his face toward the desert, where the Israelites had made the golden calf,” or “He directed his face toward the golden calf, which the Israelites had made in the desert.” See Ramban , Midrash Aggadah , Mechokekei Yehudah (Minchath Yehudah , fn. 1)].

וישת אל המדבר פניו: כתרגומו:

2Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of God rested upon him.

dwelling according to its tribes: He saw each tribe dwelling by itself, not intermingling [with other tribes], and he saw that the openings of their tents did not face each other, so that they should not peer into each other’s tents. — [B.B. 60a, Mid. Aggadah]

the son of Beor: Heb. בְּנו ֹבְעֹר, lit., his son was Beor. [However, the word בְּנוֹ is used here] as in“to a spring לְמַעְיְנוֹ of water” (Ps. 114:8) [see Rashi 23:18]. The Midrash Aggadah expounds: Both were greater than their fathers; Balak, his son was Zippor, for his [Balak’s] father was his son, as it were, with regard to royalty. And Balaam was greater than his father in prophecy; he was a maneh [a coin equaling one hundred zuz] the son of a peras [a coin equaling fifty zuz, half the value of a maneh]. — [Mid. Tanchuma Balak 13, Sanh. 105a]

with an open eye: Heb. שְׁתֻם הָעָיִן. His eye had been gouged out and its socket appeared open. This term שְׁתֻם is mishnaic;“enough time to bore a hole (יִשְׁתֹּם) [in a cask], seal it, and dry it” (A.Z. 69a). Our Rabbis said, Because he said, “the number of the seed of Israel” (23:10), implying that the Holy One, blessed is He, sits and counts the seed that issues from the Israelite sexual unions, waiting for the drop from which a righteous man will be born, he thought, “The One Who is holy, and Whose ministers are holy should direct his attention to matters such as these?” On account of this, Balaam’s eye was blinded (Mid. Aggadah). Some say that the phrase means “of the open eye,” [meaning of clear sight], as Onkelos renders. As for its saying, “with an open eye” rather than “with open eyes,” this teaches us that he was blind in one eye. — [Sanh. 105a]

fallen yet with open eyes: The plain meaning is as understood by the Targum [Onkelos], that He appeared to him only at night, while he was lying down. The Midrashic explanation is that when He appeared to him, he had no strength to stand on his feet, so he fell on his face, for since he was uncircumcised, it was a disgrace to appear before Him while he was standing upright in His presence. — [Mid. Aggadah]

How goodly are your tents: For he saw that the entrances were not facing each other. — [B.B. 60a]

מה טובו אהליך: על שראה פתחיהם שאינן מכוונין זה מול זה:

your dwelling places: Your encampments, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders. Another explanation:“How goodly are your tents”-How goodly are the tent of Shiloh and the eternal Temple when they are inhabited, for offerings are brought up in them to atone for you."

your dwelling places: Heb. מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶי‏, even when they are desolate, for they are held as a pledge (מַשְׁכּוֹן) for you, and their desolate state atones for your souls, as it says, “The Lord has spent His fury” (Lam. 4:11). How did He spend it?“He has kindled a fire in Zion” (ibid.) - [See Mid. Tanchuma Pekudei 4]

They extend like streams: They extend and are drawn out for a distance. Our Rabbis said: From this wicked man’s blessings we can determine how he intended to curse them when he decided to turn his face toward the desert. For when the Omnipresent reversed [the words of] his mouth, he blessed them in a way corresponding to the curses he intended to say…, as is stated in [the chapter of] Cheilek (Sanh. 105b).

like aloes: Heb. כַּאִהָלִים, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders, [aromatic plants], as in the expression as,“myrrh and aloes (וַאֲהָלוּת)” (Song 4:14).

כאהלים: כתרגומו, לשון מור ואהלות (תהלים מה ט):

which the Lord planted: in the Garden of Eden. Another interpretation: Like the firmament which is stretched out like a tent (אֹהֶל) as it says,“and he spread them out like a tent (כָּאֹהֶל) to dwell in” (Is. 40:22) (Targum Jonathan and Yerushalmi). (This interpretation is incorrect because, if so, it would have been vowelized כְּאֹהָלִים, with a cholam. - This is obviously a copyist’s comment, because Rashi proceeds to defend this interpretation. Editor’s note)

נטע ה': בגן עדן. לשון אחר כאהלים נטע ה', כשמים המתוחין כאהל:

which the Lord planted: We find the expression ‘planting’ in relation to tents, as it says,“And he will pitch (וַיִטַּע) his palatial tents” (Dan. 11:45).

נטע ה': לשון נטיעה מצינו באהלים, שנאמר ויטע אהלי אפדנו (דניאל יא מה):

7Water will flow from his wells, and his seed shall have abundant water; his king shall be raised over Agag, and his kingship exalted.

bare: Heb. יְגָרֵם. Menachem (Machbereth p. 59) interprets this word as ‘breaking up.’ Similarly,“They [the wolves] did not gnaw the (גָרְמוּ) [bones] in the morning” (Zeph. 3:3), and similarly,“its shards you shall break (תְּגָרֵמִי)” (Ezek. 23:34). I, however, maintain that it means ‘bone,’ [and the meaning is:] He strips the surrounding flesh with his teeth and the marrow from within, leaving the bone in its bare state.

and dip His arrows: חִצָּיו יִמְחָץ. Onkelos interprets it as referring to the half of the adversaries- [that is,] their part, as in, בַּעֲלֵי חִצִּים (Gen. 49:23) [which the Targum renders as]“those who should take half.” So [according to the Targum] the יִמְחָץ is [used here] as in the expression,“she split (וּמָחֲצָה) and struck through his temple” (Jud. 5:26), [hence, here it means,] they divided [among themselves] their [the adversaries’] land. It is also possible to interpret it in the literal sense, which is“arrows.” The arrows of the Holy One, blessed is He, will be dipped (יִמְחָץ) into the blood of the adversaries-He will dip and stain [the arrows] with blood, as in,“in order that your foot may wade (תִּמְחַץ) through blood” (Ps. 68: 24). This is not a departure from the general meaning of ‘wounding,’ as in,“I have wounded (מָחַצְתִּי)” (Deut. 32:39), for anything stained with blood appears as if it is wounded and stricken.

transgress the word of the Lord: Here it does not say, “my God,” as its says the first time [22:18], because he realized that he was loathsome to the Holy One, blessed is He, and had been banished [by Him]. — [Mid. Aggadah]

I am going to my people: “From now I am like the rest of my people,” for the Holy One, blessed is He, had departed from him.

הולך לעמי: מעתה הריני כשאר עמי, שנסתלק הקב"ה מעליו:

Come, I will advise you: what action you should take. What is that counsel? “The God of these [people] hates immorality [thus, entice them to sin with your women…] as it is related in [the chapter of] Cheilek (Sanh. 106a). The proof that Balaam offered this counsel to cause them to stumble through immorality is that it says, ”They were the ones who were involved with the children of Israel on Balaam’s advice" (31:16).

what this people will do to your people: This is an elliptical verse, [and it means,] I will advise you how to make them stumble, and tell you how they will punish Moab at the end of days. “And crush the princes of Moab” (verse 17); the Targum [Onkelos] elaborates on the abbreviated Hebrew.

I see it: I see that prominence and greatness of Jacob, but it is not at present, only at a later time.

אראנו: רואה אני שבחו של יעקב וגדולתן, אך לא עתה היא, אלא לאחר זמן:

A star has gone forth: As the Targum [Onkelos] renders, an expression similar to“He has bent (דָּר‏ַ) his bow” (Lam. 2:4), for a star shoots out like an arrow; in old French, destent, as if to say, his good fortune shall rise [prosper].

which will crush the princes of Moab: This refers to David, of whom it says,“he laid them on the ground and measured two cord-lengths to put to death…” (II Sam. 8:2). - [Mid. Aggadah]

ומחץ פאתי מואב: התרגום מפרש קוצר העברי ויקטול וכו':

and uproot: Heb. וְקַרְקַר is a term denoting ‘digging’ as in,“I dug (קַרְתִּי) ” (II Kings 19:24);“to the hole of the pit from which you were dug out (נֻקַּרְתֶּם) ” (Is. 51:1);“may the ravens of the valley pick it out (יִקְּרוּהָ) ” (Prov. 30:17); in French, forer.

and Seir shall become the possession of his enemies: For his enemy, Israel.

והיה ירשה שעיר אויביו: ישראל:

19A ruler shall come out of Jacob, and destroy the remnant of the city."

יטוְיֵרְדְּ מִיַּעֲקֹב וְהֶאֱבִיד שָׂרִיד מֵעִיר:

A ruler shall come out of Jacob: There will be another ruler from Jacob.

וירד מיעקב: ועוד יהיה מושל אחר מיעקב:

and destroy the remnant of the city: Of the most prominent [city] of Edom, that is, Rome. He says this regarding the King Messiah, of whom it says, “and may he reign from sea to sea,” (Ps. 72:8),“ and the house of Esau shall have no survivors” (Obad. 1:18). - [Mid. Aggadah]

He saw Amalek: He perceived the retribution destined to befall Amalek.

וירא את עמלק: נסתכל בפורענותו של עמלק:

Amalek was the first of the nations: He came before all of them to make war with Israel, and so Targum renders. And his fate shall be to perish by their hand, as it says, “You shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek” (Deut. 25:19).

He saw the Kenite and said: Since the Kenites were encamped near Amalek, as it is said, “Saul said to the Kenite…” (I Sam. 15:6), he mentions him after Amalek. He perceived the greatness of the sons of Jethro [known also as Keni], of whom it is said,“Tirathites (תִּרְעָתִים), Shimathites (שִׁמְעָתִים), Sochathites (סוֹכָתִים)” (I Chron. 2:55), [expounded on in Sifrei (Beha’alothecha 42) as follows: תִּרְעָתִים, so called because they heard the shofar blast (תְּרוּעָה) on Mount Sinai, because they would cry out (מַתְרִיעִים) and be answered, because they dwelled at the entrance to the gates (תַּרְעֵי) of Jerusalem; שִׁמְעָתִים, so called because they obeyed (שָׁמְעוּ) their father’s command (to abstain from drinking wine and to live in tents, as in Jer. 35:8, 9); סוֹכָתִים, so called because they did not anoint themselves (לֹא סָכוּ) with oil and because they dwelt in booths (סֻכּוֹת)].

How firm is your dwelling place: [Balaam asks Jethro, who is Keni,] “I wonder how you merited this? Were you not with me in the counsel [we gave Pharaoh] ”Come, let us deal wisely with them"? (Exod. 1:10) Yet now you have settled yourself in the firmness and strength of Israel. — [Sanh. 106a]

For if Kain is laid waste: Fortunate are you that you are settled in this stronghold, for you will never be banished from the world. Even if you are destined to be exiled with the ten tribes, and be eliminated from the place where you had settled, what of it?

how far will Assyria take you captive?: How far will he exile you? Perhaps as far as Halah or Habor? That is not considered being banished from the world, but being moved from one place to another, and you shall return with the other exiles.

23He took up his parable and said, Alas! Who can survive these things from God?

כגוַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר אוֹי מִי יִחְיֶה מִשֻּׂמוֹ אֵל:

He took up his parable…: Since he mentioned the captivity by Assyria, he says-

וישא משלו וגו': כיון שהזכיר את שביית אשור אמר

Alas! Who can survive these things from God?: Who can save himself from the One who designates these things, so that the One who decrees [namely, God] should not put these things [into effect] against him? [And what are these terrible things?] That Sennacherib will arise and confuse all the nations, and furthermore, “ships will come from the Kittites”-the Kittites, who are the Romans, shall go forth in huge warships against Assyria.